A Fresh Start
by zeilfanaat
Summary: Sort of sequel to "Love and Second Chances", though I think it can be read separately. As Nancy & Clint continue preparations for their wedding, Clint temporarily takes over a patient for Doctor Crane, and finds the patient's son with a lot of questions.
1. Chapter 1

**A Fresh Start **

_By zeilfanaat_

**Category: **Drama, Romance

**Rating:** PG13, T

**Warning:** none

**Disclaimer:** "Doc" is not mine. It is produced by Dave Alan Johnson & Gary R. Johnson. No infringement intended.

**Spoilers:** None

**Summary:** Sequel to "Love and Second Chances". As Nancy & Clint continue preparations for their wedding, Clint temporarily takes over a patient for Doctor Crane, and finds the patient's son with a lot of questions.

**Archive:** i2Eye Fan Fiction, fanfiction. net

**Challenge:** Easter/Spring Challenge – winner of "Best DOC story" & "Best Original Character" – Luke Peterson.

**A/N:** Timeline wise – not really set after a particular episode, although if you want it pinned down, probably mid-5th season (which I haven't seen).

**Finished:** 21st of June 2008.

* * *

Chapter 1

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Nancy asked, taking another bite of her steak, which Clint thankfully for her hadn't cooked until it required a chain saw to get through. Although he was still happily munching on his _very_ well done piece of beef.

"Looks great. I don't think you forgot anything. You've spent a lot of time thinking on this already," Clint replied after swallowing, as he read through the other things Nancy had written down, which they hadn't discussed before. Nancy beamed.

"Well, considering I'm going to marry the most wonderful guy you can imagine, I'd have to be crazy not to." Clint chuckled. "_And_ especially seeing as it took you four years just to pop the question. I've had plenty of time to think about it," she teased. The doctor smiled. "And I'm blessed to have found this incredible woman, who is crazy enough to have waited those four years, and then to say yes."

Nancy blushed, and they shared a long look, before realising dinner was getting cold. The nurse cleared her throat, and picked up on the earlier banter. "Watch out with whom you're calling 'crazy', mister, we're not married yet."

"Well, let's get on with the preparations then, 'cause I can't wait till I can call you 'my wife'," Clint said, and Nancy nodded happily. They quickly finished dinner, and were just settling down on the couch to look at the guest-list, when Clint's phone rang.

"Oh oh, I know what that means," Nancy said. Clint raised his eyebrows, but answered the phone. "Clint Cassidy… Wh- … Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."

He hung up, and looked at Nancy apologetically. "I'm afraid I have to go. A patient of doctor Crane has been in an accident, but he hasn't returned yet from that medical conference."

"What happened?" Nancy turned from her position on the couch to watch as Clint put on his coat.

"I'm not sure yet. All I know is that it was a car accident, and that the man's wife is on her way." Clint leaned over, and kissed his fiancée. "I'll call as soon as I know when I'll be back."

"Ok. Be careful!" Nancy called after him.

"Will do."

As the door to Nancy's apartment closed, she sat back on the couch.

"Well, I guess I'd better get used to it. I am marrying a doctor after all." A wide smile spread across her face, as once again, the implications sank in. She pulled the laptop onto her knees, and started putting the loose notes in one document.

* * *

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When Clint arrived at the correct section, he found a dark-haired woman pacing the hallway nervously, and a young boy of about eight, who was sitting on one of the hard hospital chairs, his feet dangling just a little bit above the floor. As soon as the woman heard footsteps, she looked up expectantly, but her face fell when she saw Clint, and she continued pacing.

"Mrs. Peterson?" Clint asked. The brunette's head shot up.

"That's me," she answered, although she eyed him wearily.

"I'm doctor Clint Cassidy, Ma'am. Doctor Crane is currently unavailable, so I'm filling in for him until he returns," Clint explained, holding his hand out in greeting. For a moment, Mrs. Peterson eyed the man standing before her, but returned the greeting.

"Do you know anything else about my husband's condition, doctor Cassidy?" she asked. The boy, who had at first sat listlessly watching, had now slipped off the chair, and stood next to the woman. He looked up at Clint expectantly.

"As far as I've heard, your husband was involved in a car accident, where another driver's brakes malfunctioned, and hit your husband's car," Clint explained. "Your husband is still in surgery at the moment, but as soon as he's out, we'll be brought up to speed as to your husband's condition."

Mrs. Peterson sighed, nodded, and started to pace again. The boy continued to stand next to Clint, looking straight at him. Clint nodded at him. "Hey there."

"Hi," the boy replied.

"I'm doctor Cassidy. What's your name?"

"I'm Luke," the boy replied.

"Nice to meet you, Luke. How about we sit down?"

"Ok," the boy said, returning to the chair he'd previously been sitting on. Clint sat down next to him.

"Are you going to make my father better?" Luke asked after a few seconds.

"Well Luke, I'm going to try my best, but let's first see what the other doctor says, ok?" Clint said. Luke nodded. Just then the surgeon arrived. He nodded at Clint, recognising the doctor, then turned to Mrs. Peterson.

"Mrs. Peterson?" The woman nodded. "I'm doctor Wolkin; I've been taking care of your husband."

"Is he going to be ok?" Luke piped up, and his mother shushed him, although she kept her gaze fixed at the doctor. "As you know, your husband was in a car accident. He has a few broken ribs, which will heal nicely. There was a little bit of internal bleeding, but we managed to stop that. However, your husband also hit his head quite hard, and I'm afraid he slipped into a coma."

Mrs. Peterson swallowed, and she felt Luke's hand grasp hers. "W… will he wake up?"

Doctor Wolkin was silent for a moment. "At this point, we can't say much about that yet. We will first have to wait. He's being transferred to ICU at the moment. I will send a nurse to bring you there, or," he looked at Clint, "perhaps doctor Cassidy could escort you?" Clint nodded. "If you have further questions, please ask." His beeper went off. "I'm afraid I'll have to leave you for now, but I will see you around."

The doctor hurried off, and Clint indicated the direction of the ICU. For a moment, Mrs. Peterson was quiet, but as they approached the ICU, she started flooding Clint with questions, which he patiently answered as best as he could. As they arrived, Clint quickly inquired after Mr. Peterson, and was directed towards one of the rooms. As soon as they entered, Mrs. Peterson hurried to her husband's side, carefully taking in the various machines and tubes, before pulling up a chair. Luke also approached, but much slower. After a few moments, he slipped onto his mother's lap. Clint decided he should give them a little privacy, so he walked out of the room. After a short moment of reflection, he came to a decision, and went to give Nancy a call to say it could take a while. She made him promise to give her a call when he went home, no matter what the time. They talked for a little more, then Clint hung up.

After a while, he checked up on Mrs. Peterson and her son, and he noticed that Luke was starting to get fidgety. Clint looked at his watch, and asked if they wanted to get something to eat. Mrs. Peterson declined, but agreed that Luke should get something to eat. That's how the two ended up in the cafeteria. They talked a little on random topics, when Luke suddenly asked, "Why do you wear a necklace?"

Clint smiled. "It's not just a necklace. It's got a cross attached too, see?"

Again, the boy nodded. "Yes. But why do you wear it?"

"Well," Clint explained, "It's to remind me that God is always with me."

For a moment, Luke was quiet. Then he questioned, "So are you a 'Christian'?"

"Yes, I am," the country doctor agreed. He tipped his head slightly, and asked, "What about you?"

"I don't really know what that means." A frown appeared on his brow. "I know that it means you believes in God…"

Clint nodded. "That's right. And we believe in Jesus."

The boy's face lit up. "That's God's Son, right?"

"Exactly."

Luke seemed to be thinking hard on something, so Clint decided to wait till he was ready to continue talking. Meanwhile, he continued eating. Sure, he'd had supper earlier, but he could eat anytime of the day.

"What does the cross have to do with God?" Luke asked. "I know that churches have crosses, but why?"

Clint sat back a little. "I'll try and explain. Just ask if you don't understand, ok?" At the boy's nod, Clint continued. "You know how we sometimes do things we're not supposed to do?"

Luke looked at him curiously, as if debating if he should trust the man to not tell on him if he admitted to that, but decided that, as men amongst each other, he would be able to trust him. So he nodded.

"And deep inside, you know that it's wrong, right? That you deserve punishment when you still do it?" The nod came a little more hesitantly, but he nodded nonetheless.

"Well, God loves us very much, but He gets sad when we do something like that. He knows that we deserve to be punished, but He also would hate to see us punished. So you know what He did? … He sent His Son, Jesus, to the Earth, and Jesus took all our punishment for us, - "

Luke's eyes widened and interrupted, "For everyone?"

"Yes."

"So no one is punished?"

"Well, there's a problem. You do have to believe in Him. And then you are forgiven, and you don't have to be punished anymore."

That was a difficult idea, and Luke needed to think about that more. But first he wanted to know where the cross came in.

"So Jesus took our punishment, which was death… and Jesus died in our place, on a cross."

Luke fell silent. That was quite a big thing. "Did this really happen? I mean, people die for other people in movies all the time, but that's not real."

"Yes this happened for real," Clint said. "Some don't believe it did, but I do. And you know what's even greater? Jesus didn't just die. He also rose again after three days. He conquered death, and that's why we are all saved if we believe in Him."

Luke was in awe, but still a whole bunch of questions whirled through his head, and he continued asking questions. When they eventually were approaching ICU again, Luke had already learnt a lot. But then he frowned. "But Doc Cassidy? My mother doesn't believe in God."

"Yeah, unfortunately that happens quite a lot. But it's important that first _you_ believe, and then you can pray for other people, like your mother and your father."

The boy shook his head. "That's not necessary. Dad does believe in God, but Mom doesn't, so she always tells him to not talk about that. And when he does, then she gets mad." He frowned again. "Dad isn't stupid, but Mom is really smart too. But they can't both be right, can they?"

Then another thought struck him. "But, if God loves us so much, why did Dad get in an accident?"

"Believing in God doesn't mean that bad things will never happen again. Sometimes things happen for reasons we don't know yet. But if you have given your heart to Jesus, then you can be sure that, no matter what happens, He'll be there for you, and take care of you."

The words made impact on the boy, and as they turned the corner, he mulled over everything he'd learnt. That's when he saw his mother, and he shook off his thoughts for a moment, running into her arms. "Hi Mom! How's Dad? Did he wake up yet?"

"No sweetie, he hasn't woken up yet. But we need to go home and get some sleep." She looked up, and gave Clint a strange look. "Can you go get your coat, and say goodnight to your father? I need to ask doctor Cassidy something."

"OK. He's very good with answering questions. I had lots of questions, and he's been answering a lot too." With those words, he walked towards the room where his father lay.

Clint waited for the woman to speak, and when she did, he was taken aback by the force with which she looked at him. "I don't care what you believe in, but I heard what you were saying when you walked up here, and from what Luke just said, I guess you've been feeding him all that nonsense. As I said, I don't care what you believe, but you'd better keep your beliefs to yourself. I don't want you talking about them to my son. I will not tolerate it."

"Ma'am, I didn't mean to impose my beliefs on your son, but he has a lot of questions, and all I did was answering them to the best of my knowledge."

Mrs. Peterson huffed, and stared at him. "When is doctor Crane back?"

"I believe he will be back tomorrow."

"Good, then you don't need to be near my son again. Thank you for being here and answering our questions about my husband, but you won't need to be back for us."

With those words, she turned around and intercepted Luke, who was on his way back to the two adults. Luke waved. "Bye Doc Cassidy!"

Clint nodded, and gave the boy a smile, before they disappeared around the corner. With a sigh, he left as well. Glancing at his watch, he called Nancy.

"Hey," she greeted him through the phone.

"Hey Nance. Just wanted to let you know I'm coming home now. Are you still up?"

"Yeah, I'm still up. Want to swing by?" The smile was almost audible, as she added, "I can make it more tempting by offering hot chocolate…"

Clint chuckled, his mood lifting – not because of the hot chocolate, but because he loved this woman so much. "I'll be there soon."

"Ok," Nancy smiled. "Be careful."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thanks for those who are reading, and thanks Give us Peace for the review on the first chapter. Much appreciated. Here's the third chapter. I hope you'll all enjoy!

Chapter 3

The next morning, Nancy and Clint arrived at the clinic together. The night before, Clint had talked about what had happened with the Petersons, and after they had prayed for them, they had continued to compile the guest list for their wedding. Even though they couldn't wait to get married, they thoroughly enjoyed these evenings of preparation together. And not only did living across the hall mean that their evenings could last longer, it also meant they could come over for breakfast the next morning.

Which was perhaps the reason why both were in a good mood when they entered the clinic.

"Good morning, you two," Tippy greeted them, glad to see her two friends so happy and in love.

"Good morning, Tippy," Nancy said brightly, and Clint smiled. Just then doctor Hebert walked in, his face sombre. "Hey doctor D." Clint greeted the man.

"'morning Clint. Nancy. Tippy."

"Hey Derek, is something wrong?" Clint asked concerned.

"Oh. No, not really. Yes, actually there is," Derek said. Tippy wrinkled her nose. "How can there not really be something wrong when there actually is… something wrong…?" The other three looked at her for a moment, then doctor Hebert continued. "Well, you see, Gracie's school has organised an event at the swimming pool. But Nellie had already arranged to meet an old friend of hers, who has been living outside the country, and who's back for only a short while, so she can't move it."

"So you're going to this event with Gracie by yourself?" Nancy confirmed. Derek nodded. "And… that's a problem, how exactly?"

Derek looked down, and mumbled something intelligibly.

"What was that?"

The doctor sighed and looked up. "I can't swim."

For a moment, they were quiet. Then Nancy shrugged. "Well, if that's all… I mean, you won't have to swim right. You could just stay at the side of the pool, or walk in the water."

"Oh, I wish I could. But the event includes some things where the parents are supposed to participate in. You know, like, parent races etcetera. And Gracie will be so disappointed when I don't participate." Derek sighed. "I guess we'll just have to live with it."

"Now hold on, doctor D. When's this event?" Clint asked suddenly, an idea forming in his mind.

"Next week."

"What are you up to?" Nancy asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Well, I was thinking… if we've still got a week, then that should give us plenty of time to at least teach you to swim," Clint explained.

Derek looked at him doubtfully. "Do you think that would work?"

"Yeah, I think it would. We'll go to the pool every night, until you feel as a fish in the water. Alright, you probably won't win any races, but that won't matter."

"That's right!" Nancy agreed enthusiastically. "Gracie would be happy to just see you participate."

The older doctor thought about it for a little while, the enthusiasm of Nancy and Clint's conviction that they could do this being contagious, and finally he too started to nod. His eyes started to light up. "I-I-I-I… Alright, let's do it."

Tippy smiled widely. "I'll inform at what times the pool's open for public."

"Thanks Tippy," Clint said. Doctor Hebert left with a bounce in his step, and Tippy went over to help a client filling in a form, leaving Nancy and Clint at the desk. "Well Swimming-teacher-Cassidy. Seems we've got ourselves a swim-date," Nancy said with a smile. They shared a brief kiss, before going about their jobs.

Half an hour later, there was a knock on Clint's office door. It was doctor Oliver Crane. "Doctor Cassidy?"

"Mornin' doctor Crane, come in. How was the medical conference?"

"Quite interesting. But that is not what I came to talk to you about. I believe you went to see one of my patients last night? Mr. Peterson?"

"Yeah, that's right." Clint agreed. Oliver sat down in one of the other chairs, and looked at the other man.

"There was a note with the file on my desk this morning," doctor Crane said, watching Clint carefully. "Apparently Mrs. Peterson specifically asked you to be removed as her husband's doctor…"

Clint sighed. "I know. She told me last night I didn't need to come back."

"What in the world did you do?" doctor Crane exclaimed.

"I answered her son's questions about Christianity," Clint replied.

Oliver's initial reaction was to make a snide comment, but over the past few weeks, he and his wife had started interacting more with the country doctor and his fiancée, after Oliver had come over to apologise to the couple. Finally he settled on, "Well, at least I won't have that problem. Was there anything else I need to know?"

"No, I believe that's it."

"Ok." With a nod, the older doctor rose and left the room.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you, Give us Peace! I certainly tried to give the story two story-lines, like with the episodes. Hope it worked.

Because I won't have much time tomorrow, I'm uploading this chapter today as well. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

That evening, after they had had a light dinner, Nancy and Clint drove by the house of doctor Hebert to pick him up. Nellie and Gracie waved them goodbye, and as Derek stepped into the truck too, they could hear Gracie's bright voice asking, "Why is Daddy going to swim now, and not when _I_ usually swim?"

They didn't hear Nellie's reply, but it did strengthen Derek's resolve to learn how to swim. When they arrived, they parted to get changed. The men were finished slightly ahead of Nancy, and Derek was starting to get a bit nervous. He saw a few other people passing and diving in, and he was really uncertain about whether he would be able to stay afloat.

"Relax, Derek, you'll be fine," Clint said softly. "Nancy and I will be the-" he started to say, when his breath caught at the sight of his fiancée in her swimsuit. Derek looked at what had gotten his colleague distracted, and smiled indulgently when he noticed Nancy.

"Hey guys, ready?" Nancy asked as she approached them. Clint had found his breath back, and saw Derek look at him knowingly. "Yeah, we're ready," he said.

"Well, ehm, actually, perha-" Derek started, inching in the direction of the changing area. "Alright, let's go then," Nancy said, and she and the country doctor both took an arm and turned him in the right direction, before letting go. Derek sighed but started walking towards the pool. Clint held Nancy back a little, and whispered, "You look beautiful."

Nancy blushed slightly, but let her fingers brush lightly across his arm. "You're not too bad yourself."

"Are you two coming?" Derek asked, and the couple grinned at the somewhat desperate sound they heard in his voice. "We're coming," Clint replied.

They started at the shallow end of the pool, where the water only reached up to their bellies. "Alright, when you swim, you stretch your arms ahead of you, like this," Clint began. He showed how to use his arms while swimming, and let Derek copy the motions. Then he did the same thing with his legs. Nancy meanwhile went to get something which Derek could use to stay afloat. When she came back, Derek was told to hold that out in front of him, and just use his legs to propel himself forward. After a little while, one of the overseers came to stand at the side of the pool, and gave him some useful hints. Derek started to gain more confidence, and Nancy and Clint were happy to leave the teaching to the overseer, and instead just continued to swim next to Derek. When he started to show signs of tiredness, the overseer told him to call it quits for today, and gave him some more tips for next time.

"If you come tomorrow at the same time, I'll be happy to help you some more," the man said. All three thanked him abundantly, and said their goodbyes. Derek sat at the side with his feet dangling in the water. After agreeing that they should go home, Nancy suddenly said to Clint, "Race you to the other side?"

"You're on," the country doctor said. "Derek, are you coming too?"

"Oh, oh, I'm not swimming. I'll walk around the pool. You two go ahead." He hadn't finished talking completely, when Nancy took herself a head start. Clint quickly followed, and Derek watched as his two friends shot through the water. He knew he wouldn't be cutting through the water as they did, at least not anytime soon… but the progress he'd already made on this first evening gave him some hope that he wasn't a completely lost cause.

* * *

"I _so_ won!" Nancy exclaimed good-naturedly.

"Nah, we tied," Clint denied. "Besides, you weren't playing fair," he said as he drove his car towards Derek's house.

"Of course I was! You're stronger than I am, so I deserve a head-start," Nancy countered. "And we didn't tie, I was ahead of you…"

For a moment they stared at each other silently, before bursting out in laughter, and Clint turned his attention back to the road.

"Alright Doctor D, we'll see you tomorrow," Clint said, as they dropped him off at home. "See you tomorrow. Nancy, Clint. And thank you once again for helping me with this."

"No problem," Nancy said, giving his hand a small squeeze. They waved, and they drove off.

When they arrived back home, they went to Clint's apartment, where they decided to leave the wedding-arrangements for another day, and to just enjoy each other's company.

TBC


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks Give us Peace, for the review! I finished earlier than I expected, so here's chapter 5.

* * *

Chapter 5

The next morning, doctor Crane did his hospital rounds, deciding to pop in on the Petersons first. He'd gone to see them yesterday too, and Mrs. Peterson had thanked him for being there. The boy had been rather withdrawn, after he'd asked where doctor Cassidy was. Actually, he'd seemed preoccupied with something, rather than withdrawn. Well, it was Mr. Peterson he'd had to care about, and as long as the boy wasn't annoying other people, then Oliver Crane had no problem with him being there.

Today however, when he entered the room, he found only the boy, sitting in a chair next to his father's bed. Mrs. Peterson was nowhere in sight. The boy looked up.

"Good morning," Oliver nodded, trying to remember what the boy's name was again.

"Good morning," the boy responded, then kept staring at the doctor, until Oliver started to feel a bit uncomfortable. "Eh, is your mother here too?"

"She just went to the toilet."

"Ah. Ok. Right then." Oliver checked Mr. Peterson's chart. Suddenly the boy asked, "Doctor? If my father doesn't wake up, will he go to Heaven?"

Oliver looked at the boy, and gave the only answer he thought he could, even if he really could tell. "I'm sure he would. But it's not quite that bad with your father at the moment, so I wouldn't worry about that yet."

"Ok."

Satisfied, Oliver smiled, mentally tapping himself on the shoulder for being able to get the boy on another line of thinking.

"Where is Heaven?"

Oliver's face fell. "I don't know."

"Are you a Christian too?"

"No."

"Oh." The boy sounded disappointed, but then his face lit up again. "So do you believe there is a God?"

Oliver sighed. "I believe there might be 'something', but I really don't know if that something is God."

"Why do you not believe that that something is God? What else could it be?"

With a shrug, Oliver replied. "I really don't know. I haven't given it a lot of thought."

The boy tilted his head a little sideways, and his gaze seemed to penetrate Oliver's thoughts. "Don't you think you should give it more thought?"

"I beg your pardon?" Oliver asked, more out of complete surprise than anything else.

"Daddy got into an accident. But Daddy believes in God. And doctor Cassidy says that if you believe in God and Jesus that you go to Heaven. I don't know if Daddy also believes in Jesus, but if he believes in God then I think he also believes in Jesus. But Mom doesn't believe in God or Jesus. So I don't know if I should. What do you think?"

Oliver blinked. "Eh, I… eh, I really don't think that… I think that's something you need to decide for yourself."

"But you don't believe in Jesus. So you must have a reason why you don't," the boy pressed.

"Look, I really don't know all these answers. Perhaps you should talk to your mother about this."

The boy sighed. "Ok."

With that Oliver thought the subject was closed.

"Could you ask doctor Cassidy if Daddy is lonely, or if Jesus is with Daddy in his coma too?"

Disconcerted, Oliver wondered where the boy got all these questions from, but was saved from answering when Mrs. Peterson walked back in.

"Doctor Crane. I'm sorry if I've kept you waiting."

"Oh, it's no problem at all." But inwardly he was relieved that the mother of the boy had returned, because these questions made him uncomfortable. He gave Mrs. Peterson an update on her husband's situation, and continued his rounds.

TBC


	6. Chapter 6

Thanks for the review, Give us Peace! Here's chapter 6.

Chapter 6

In the coffee area, Tippy was making herself a cup of tea when doctor Hebert walked up, and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Oh hi, doctor Hebert."

"Hello Tippy!"

"How did your swimming lesson go yesterday?" the receptionist asked.

"Oh, well, I'm not exactly a fish in the water yet," doctor Hebert started.

"But he did really well for a first time," Nancy added, as she walked around the corner, and joined them.

"Thank you, Nancy," doctor Hebert said, receiving a wide smile in return.

"Well, she is right," another voice joined the conversation, and Clint walked up to the coffee pot as well, but was handed a full cup by his fiancée. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Nancy said, giving him a loving smile, before filling another cup for herself.

"So are you going tonight again?" Tippy asked, keeping a smile to herself as she watched the couple due to marry in a couple of months interact.

"Yes, I am," doctor Hebert replied. "Are you two coming as well?"

"Yes, we are," Nancy said, checking with Clint quickly, who nodded.

"Ok, why don't you come have dinner at our place then?" Derek proposed. "It's been a while since you have been over, and I know both Nellie and Gracie would love to see you again."

"Well, if it's no problem, then, yes, we'd love to come," Clint agreed.

"No problem at all. I'll call Nellie in a little bit, so she knows you're coming, and we can go to the swimming pool afterwards."

"Deal."

* * *

"Doctor Cassidy? Could I have a word?" doctor Crane asked, as Clint finished up for the day.

"Yeah, sure. How are the Peterson's doing, by the way?" Clint asked.

"Mr. Peterson's still in a coma, but otherwise he's improving," Oliver replied, then hesitated. "It is the boy I wanted to talk about really."

That surprised Clint, but he waited. "He asked me a couple of questions today, and… well, they are quite… heavy questions, if you know what I mean."

Clint nodded. He knew.

"For example, he asked if his father would go to Heaven if he wouldn't wake up. And he asked me to ask you if Jesus was also with his father even in a coma."

"What did you say?" Clint was curious.

"That I didn't know. He also seemed to want to know if he should believe in God and Jesus, or not. I told him that was probably something he should decide for himself," Oliver admitted. Clint nodded. "It is something one should decide for oneself."

Relieved, Oliver sighed.

"As for those other questions... Well, I believe that once you believe in God and have given your heart to Jesus, that He'll be with you at all times." Clint was silent for a moment, then continued, "Perhaps Luke should go talk to the hospital's chaplain. I'm sure he'd be willing to talk to him."

"Right. Well, thank you, doctor Cassidy. I'll see you tomorrow," Oliver turned around, and was about to walk off, when Clint spoke up again. "And Oliver." He waited till the other doctor stopped. "If you want to talk…"

"I'm sure that's not necessary. When Luke talks to the chaplain, I'm sure he won't have to ask me any more questions concerning this subject, and I won't have to ask you. Thanks for the thought anyway." Quickly, doctor Crane turned around again, and walked out. Wasn't it enough that the boy's questions had released some of his own questions and doubts? He didn't need the man's interference in _his_ personal beliefs. But deep inside, he couldn't deny that the boy's… Luke's questions had hit a nerve.

Doctor Cassidy watched him go, contemplating the situation. Nancy poked her head around the corner. "Are you coming? We still need to pick up our gear, and if we don't go now we'll be late for dinner."

That shook Clint from his thoughts, and he rose. "Yeah, I'm coming. Just a second."

As they walked to the car, Nancy frowned. "Something on your mind?"

Clint sighed. "You know that boy I talked about two days ago? Luke Peterson?"

Nancy nodded. "Well, apparently he's asked doctor Crane a couple of questions about Jesus."

"Right, well, I guess I don't have to ask if _he_ converted Luke." Nancy rolled her eyes.

"Actually, he-"

"Don't tell me he did!" Nancy warned.

"No," Clint said with a small smile. "He didn't."

"Phew." Nancy sagged into the passenger chair, but added, "Not that I wouldn't be ecstatic if doctor Crane would actually have become a Christian, but I would have been very very very surprised if that had happened overnight, and he'd immediately converted someone."

Clint chuckled. "Alright, I admit, the idea does seem somewhat farfetched. But you know, with God, all things are possible." He winked.

"Yeah, true. But back to the subject. What _did_ doctor Crane do?"

"He actually came and talked about the questions Luke had. And I got the feeling that Luke hit a nerve or something, because Oliver didn't seem completely at ease."

Nancy nodded. "Well, I guess all we can do is pray." She looked over at her fiancé, and covered his hand with her smaller one. "Are you going to talk to Luke again?"

Clint sighed. "His mother made it pretty obvious she didn't want me anywhere near him again. But if I would run into him again at some point, I wouldn't turn him away."

Nancy smiled tenderly. "We'll see what the Lord has in store for Luke. After all, He does work in various ways."

"Yeah." Clint nodded, and smiled. "Thanks Nancy."

"You're welcome." They shared a kiss, and when they had to stop to breathe again, Nancy smiled, and said, "Now hit the gas, or we're never going to be there in time."

Clint chuckled, and turned on the engine. "Yes Ma'am."

TBC


	7. Chapter 7

Thanks for the review, Give us Peace. Glad you liked that last chapter so much. :) Here's chapter 7. I'll probably be uploading the last chapter (chapter 8) either tonight or sometime tomorrow.

Chapter 7

Two days later, Oliver Crane walked into Mr. Peterson's room again, finding only his patient this time. He checked Mr. Peterson, and looked at the chart. He frowned. So far, things had progressed well, but the man had yet to wake up.

Suddenly he heard the familiar voice of Mrs. Peterson, talking to her son, whom she was dragging towards the room. "I've told you not to listen to that nonsense. It's bad enough that your father believes it. Oh, doctor Crane, good morning," she said, when she entered the room.

"Mrs. Peterson. Luke."

"Hi doctor Crane," the boy said cheerfully. Oliver checked to see if he had seen it correctly, but yes, for some reason, Luke _was_ cheerful. He no longer looked troubled. But then, why would he look cheerful when his mother had just been telling him off for something. Without prodding, Luke provided the answer, "I've got Jesus in my heart."

Mrs. Peterson rolled her eyes. "Can you just stop with this nonsense, Luke? I'm sure doctor Crane has better things to do than to listen to your babbling. Doctor Crane, was there anything new on my husband?"

"No, there isn't. His blood pressure is a little lower, but nothing to be concerned about," Oliver said, dragging his attention back, although in his mind he added, _'Yet.'_ He made a note on the chart, then looked up. "I'll be going on my rounds now, but I'll be back later."

"Thank you," Mrs. Peterson said, and she moved to the bed, gently caressing her husband's face, willing him to wake up. Oliver left, casting one last look at the boy, who had taken a chair next to the bed. He was concerned too, but there was a sense of peace that Oliver didn't think could be even present in an 8 year old.

Two hours later, he was teaching a couple of medical students, together with doctor Cassidy, whose patient's condition they were currently testing the student's knowledge of. Just as they had finished the lesson, and sent the students off, Oliver's beeper suddenly went off, and when he saw the message, he looked up at Clint. "Mr. Peterson's got a code blue."

Immediately, the two doctors rushed off towards the ICU. When they got there, Mrs. Peterson's face was tearstained as she stood outside the room, holding her silent son close against her side. They both looked at the door of the room where her husband lay, as if willing him to survive. When she saw the two doctors, she mumbled, "He just, he … alarms were going off, and… his heart…"

Clint had quickly checked to see if there were people working on it already, and saw that he'd only be in the way, so he backed out again.

"It's ok, Mrs. Peterson. Here, let me get you a chair." Oliver Crane took the shocked woman to the other side of the hall and sat her down on one of the chairs. Luke followed and sat down beside his mother. "Don't cry Momma."

The door to the room opened, and a doctor and a few nurses came back out. The doctor spoke to Oliver and Clint for a moment. Mrs. Peterson rose again. "Is he…?"

"He's still alive. His blood pressure crashed for a moment, but we got him back. We'll have to bring him back into surgery though, to check for internal bleeding, as we think this was the cause."

Just then, the door opened, and Mr. Peterson was wheeled out, towards the OR. Doctor Crane turned towards the woman and her son, and said that he was going to shrub in too. Mrs. Peterson nodded. As doctor Crane and the other doctor hurried off, Clint motioned for the chairs. "Perhaps you'd better sit down again. This may take a while."

Mrs. Peterson nodded again, grateful for the support, uncaring that it was doctor Cassidy providing it. Luke sat down next to his mother again. Clint went to get them something to drink, quickly calling Nancy to inform her of what had happened.

After a while, Luke looked up. "Doctor Cassidy?"

"Yes Luke?"

"Could you pray with me for my Daddy?"

Mrs. Peterson didn't say a word, so Clint agreed. They held each other's hands, and closed their eyes. First Clint prayed for Mr. Peterson, and for the doctors and nurses taking care of him at that moment. Then Luke spoke up.

"Dear God," Luke said quietly. "I know I've only known You for a few days, but could You please make my Daddy better? I really really really would like that. And Momma would too." He remained silent for a while, then added. "But if Daddy doesn't get better, can You say Momma and I love him when he gets to Heaven? Can You also take care of Momma, even though she doesn't know You yet? Thank You."

A strangled sob was heard from Mrs. Peterson. As they opened their eyes, they could see that tears were streaming down her face. "Momma? What's wrong?"

"Sweetie… I… I… I just don't know anymore. Momma needs to think for a while."

"Oh. Ok." Luke nodded. That was ok. He had been thinking a lot the past few days too, so it was ok if his Momma needed to think now. Clint suddenly sensed someone else's presence, and looked up to find doctor Crane leaning against the wall. His expression told Clint he'd been standing there for a while already. That's when Mrs. Peterson and Luke also noticed the doctor, and they both stood. "Doctor Crane? How…?"

"Your husband had indeed some internal bleeding. We managed to stop it, and he is stable now. He'll soon be transferred back to his room. I am not going to lie to you, it is still a waiting game, but we are hopeful."

Both doctors remained with the Petersons until their husband and father was back in his room. Clint thanked the Lord that Mr. Peterson had lived through the experience, and so did Luke. They decided to stay for a while longer, and Nancy arrived at some point with food. Clint, Nancy and Luke continued to pray for Mr. Peterson to improve, and sometime halfway through the night, his vital signs began to change positively. Early that morning, he opened his eyes.

TBC


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Hey Give us Peace, thanks for the reviews!! It's nice to know someone appreciates reading my DOC stories, especially since there are only limited people who seem to know DOC. And, yes, this is the final chapter. Thanks for everyone who read! I hope you enjoyed it.

Chapter 8

It was a few days later that Oliver invited Clint and Nancy over for coffee that evening. They accepted. While the relationship they had with the doctor and his wife had definitely improved over the past couple of weeks, they hadn't been invited to the Crane's house often yet, and usually, the invitation had come from Lynn Crane.

That evening, Oliver seemed somewhat preoccupied. He had been for the past couple of days, but it was only after a few hours of talking about all kinds of things, that Oliver brought up the subject.

"Doctor Cassidy. Something has been… well, teasing me for a while. Perhaps you can shed some light on it."

"I'll try if I can. What's up?"

"I ehm, overheard that prayer in the hallway, when I came to tell you all about Mr. Peterson getting out of surgery. Well… when Luke prayed… he basically said that, if his father didn't get better… if his father _died_, that that would be ok too. I… I don't know if… It seems so unnatural."

Nancy looked over at Clint, and Lynn too was curious as to his answer.

Clint nodded. "Maybe. You know, once you believe, and have given yourself to Jesus, you get a different perspective on things. Especially on the important matters like life and death. Luke had only known the truth for a day or two… but he'd talked to the hospital chaplain and asked him all kinds of questions."

"But I don't understand. How could the boy take it that calmly?"

"Well Oliver, the child's mind's a curious thing… they seem to see things pretty clear cut. Once they've made a choice to see something as the truth, it is the truth. He knew his father was a Christian, so he knew his father would go to Heaven if he died, and that he'd see him there again. Obviously, if he'd really died, it would have been difficult. But less so, knowing he'd see him again."

Oliver looked at the country doctor sitting in his living room. "You sure must have said something right that first evening."

"No Oliver, I was just at the right place, at the right time, where God had brought me."

* * *

Dear Doc,

How're you doing?

Things have been busy here in NY. Or rather, our Father's been busy. He's taken an accident where a man ended up in a coma, and turned it, so the man's son was eternally saved. His wife was very opposed to it at first, but that too has changed now.

_Flashback_

There was a knock on his office door. "Doctor Cassidy?"

"Mrs. Peterson. Come in."

"It won't take long," she said as she sat down. "I want to apologise for my behaviour towards you. No, please, let me finish," when she saw he was about to object. "I want to explain. When I was a young girl, my Christian mother died. I was angry at God for taking her. For years it annoyed me that my husband was a Christian, and I didn't want to hear what he wanted to say. Even interrupted conversations about it with my son. He was on his way from church when the accident happened. I was angry and afraid God would take my husband and my son's father away too, like with my mother, and blamed Him for the accident. So when Luke said he'd let Jesus into His heart, I was even more frustrated. Then Luke prayed. And it was as if a dam burst."

She looked Clint straight in the eyes. "I've found my faith again. Thank you for being a link in giving not only me but also my son and husband a fresh start."

_End flashback_

Other things changed too. Nancy and I've been teaching doctor D to swim. We've had some major help from a swimming pool overseer, but now Derek can swim. He even managed to not come in last on one of those parent-races they had the parents doing on the swimming event Gracie's school had organised. Of course we've all gone to cheer him on. Even managed to get some more swimming in of our own.

_Flashback_

"So… rematch?" Clint challenged. Nancy took one look at him. "You're on!"

They had both dived in, Nancy again getting a head start… but this time Clint caught up on her, caught her, and had thrown her a metre back again. Of course she hadn't let him get very far after that, dunking him under water, yelping when he put her across his shoulder. They'd continued to spar for a little while, but eventually ended up holding each other, locked in a kiss. Let's just say the match remained undecided.

_End flashback_

As for Oliver… well, things seem to be going in the right direction. Nancy invited Lynn to come 'wedding-shopping' with her and the rest of the girls, and Oliver seems to come around a bit more too. I've invited them over for the Easter service next week. We'll see if they come, but I have good hopes. And Easter certainly seems like a good moment for a fresh start. Well, we'll continue to pray for them. We'd sure appreciate it if you did the same.

Love,

Doc Cassidy

**

* * *

**

THE END


End file.
